Sodium-free milk of politics

Sodium-free milk of politics Poseidon Resources, the desalination outfit that finally got a contract from the San Diego County Water Authority last year, spent heavily on local political campaigns, according to its recent disclosure filing. Enjoying the staunch support of ex-GOP mayor Jerry Sanders and employing Tom Shepard’s Public Policy Strategies and his close friend and associate Nancy Chase’s Public Policy Partners, Poseidon spent a total of $84,799 on an array of local politicos and water officials. On November 2, just four days in advance of election day, $10,000 went to A Better San Diego Issues Committee, “a sponsored committee of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO.” Big labor here backed Democrat Bob Filner’s successful run for mayor over GOP city councilman Carl DeMaio. Poseidon also kicked in $10,000 for the San Diego Jobs PAC, which distributed its campaign cash to Republicans, including DeMaio. Then there was Democratic state-assembly speaker John Perez, who got $3900 from Poseidon in September; Orange County water-board candidate Jeff Thomas ($1000); Denis Bilodeau, another water-board candidate ($500); Anaheim city councilman Jordan Brandman ($1000); Huntington Beach City Council candidate Barbara Delgleize ($500); and OCTaxPAC, the political action committee of the largely GOP Orange County Taxpayers association ($30,000).